Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [166]
In Medellín, the country’s second city, towers soar skyward, with ambition matched only by its inferiority complex – Chicago to Bogotá’s New York. It is an attractive city that seduces most travelers instantly, with its just-perfect climate, green spaces, great restaurants, museums and public art work, and thumping discos.
The three main towns of the Zona Cafetera are Manizales, Pereira and Armenia. The principal business interests here are coffee, manufacturing and university students – there are a dozen universities between the three towns. It is a region of fantastic biodiversity, and the nature reserves are stunning. The paísas (people from the department of Antioquia) are sharp-eyed entrepreneurs, descendants of self-sufficient small farmers, not slave-owning plantation owners. They work hard and are proud of what they’ve achieved.
Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados is a highlight of any visit here, a high-mountain refuge of mostly extinct volcanoes whose peaks soar above 5000m. You can visit the snow line from Manizales or spend the night on the páramo (high-mountain plains) in a tent or in the comfortable cabins of El Cisne. You can take a mountain-biking tour through the park, and there are mountaineering opportunities on the peaks for those suitably equipped.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Explore the nature parks around Manizales – Los Yarumos, Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco & Recinto del Pensamiento – brimming with local orchids, hummingbirds and butterflies
Bathe in the thermals springs at Termales de Santa Rosa as waterfalls crash nearby
Sample the many fine restaurants and bars in Medellín, and stroll along the bustling city’s Milla de Oro
Spend the night in Río Claro, your hotel room open to the jungle, the river roaring below
Crane your neck to see the tops of the majestic wax palms in the cloud forest of the Valle de Cocora
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Climate
The climate in the region is a pleasant, permanent springtime. The altitude of the region varies from a low of 1410m in hot Pereira to a chillier 2150m in Manizales, with Medellín somewhere in the middle at 1494m. You will want to pack shorts and a hat for daytime, and trousers and a sweater for nighttime. And be sure to bring along an umbrella – when it rains here, it pours.
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National, State & Regional Parks
The big daddy of national parks here is Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Los Nevados, which soars above 5000m. Recinto de Pensamiento, Los Yarumos and Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco, outside of Manizales, boast beautiful species of orchids and butterflies. East of Pereira are Santuario Otún Quimbaya and Parque Ucumarí. Armenia’s botanical gardens are well worth a visit, as is the stunning Valle de Cocora, and its majestic wax palms, outside Salento.
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Getting There & Away
Medellín and Pereira airports both receive international flights. The region is well serviced by buses to Bogotá, Cali and the Caribbean coast.
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Getting Around
You should have no problem getting around using the region’s frequent, cheap bus services.
MEDELLÍN
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4 / pop 2.5 million / elev 1494m
Quickly becoming the third most popular city with tourists in Colombia (after Cartagena and Bogotá), Medellín packs the punch of a city twice its size. Situated in a narrow valley, the city’s skyline reaches for the heavens, setting high-rise apartment and office buildings against a backdrop of jagged peaks in every direction. Its pleasant climate gives the city its nickname – the City of Eternal Spring – and the moderate temperatures put a spring in the locals’ step, at work and at play. It’s a bustling city of industry and commerce, especially textile